Mexican Rice

Oh poor neglected food blog.  Hello again and happy new year.  Have I really not posted since last year?  Ack.  So sorry.  I'll try to post here a bit more regularly in 2011.

Mexican rice is so much more fun than boring old regular rice and is so easy too.  I'm assuming you can dump all these ingredients in a rice cooker and it'd turn out great too, but since I'm already dirtying a pan for sauteing the onions, I just finish it in the pan instead of dirtying the rice cooker too.  I've never cooked rice without a rice cooker and still depend on it to tell me how much water to put in, but who knew cooking rice was so easy?  This doesn't mean I'm giving up the rice cooker though!

Ingredients:
- Oil
- Rice
- Water or broth
- Minced garlic
- Diced onions
- Tomato paste
- Salt
- Cumin
(optional - bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, etc)

Directions:
- Pour a bit of oil in a pan and add the onions.  Saute until soft.
- Add the other veggies if you're using any.
- Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds.
- Add the rice and saute until the grains are coated with oil and are a bit toasty.  Then add the water/broth.  Or, if you're like me and have no clue how much water to add without using the lines in the rice cooker, add the rice and water together.
- Stir in the tomato paste (to taste/color) until melted.
- Add salt and cumin to taste.
- Bring everything to a simmer, turn the heat down and put the lid on.
- Simmer until the water is gone and the rice is cooked through.
- Fluff the rice, garnish it with cilantro, and serve it with whatever Mexican goodies you want.